


You and I, Are Not the Same

by FoxyNerdTahaji



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Bellarke, Clumsy Clarke, Detectives, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Good Cop Bad Cop, Hate to Love, Innocent Clarke, Intelligent Clarke, Love/Hate, Opposites Attract, Protective Bellamy, Slow Burn, sheltered clarke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2018-10-06 04:08:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10325273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoxyNerdTahaji/pseuds/FoxyNerdTahaji
Summary: The 100 Detective AU. Detective Blake is not fond of his new partner. The feeling is mutual. But despite their differences, the two must learn to work together.





	1. Bad Beginnings

A.P.D headquarters was located in the heart of downtown Arkadia. It was relatively close to where Bellamy grew up with his kid sister, Octavia. Only a few blocks away from the city's most impoverished neighborhood, which the locals had dubbed "Factory Station".

The city's main transit line stopped directly in front of an old abandoned factory in that neighborhood, a stop that locals knew not to get off on, unless you absolutely had to.

Bellamy grew up, and raised his sister just 3 blocks south of that very factory, and on more than one occasion found himself being forced into a fight on his way to and from the stop. As a result, he grew up pretty tough and able to take a hit. When he was 16 he took on mixed martial arts at the local fitness club, where Police Captain Marcus Kane would go himself, to mentor and coach the kids in the area as an act of public service.

So, Instead of joining the slew of young boys who chose a life of crime from his neighborhood, Bellamy chose to pave a path out of there, and become a cop. Idolizing the captain and looking up to him as a father-figure, the young Blake wanted to grow into a man Kane would be proud of. And No way was Octavia ending up like their mother. Over his dead body.

Because he grew up in "The Factory" (another nickname for the same part of town), Blake knew the neighborhood like the back of his hand, which is part of why he was so good at his job. He knew the locals, he knew the grittiest hangouts for all the toughest and meanest crooks in town, and he knew exactly who to talk to when you wanted to know what was going down.

It was his playground, and he wasn't likely to get himself killed by saying something stupid to the wrong guy, like so many other cops did while walking the beat.

The true irony about 'Factory Station' though, was that it just so happened to butt up right next to downtown Arkadia, easily considered the nicest part of the big city. Downtown Arkadia was built along the Ark River, the city's namesake, and bustling port for many top businesses in the country. The elite upper class and business owners all wanted that nice view from their high rises, so you bet your ass the neighborhoods, parks, and famous Riverwalk were all kept super clean... and safe.

Downtown Arkadia almost made you forget that the city was ranked #1 on the crime index, almost... as an alarming 97% of all crimes were commited in the surrounding neighborhoods. Leaving Downtown Arkadia in it's own little bubble, and it's residents all too naive to the very real threats that surrounded them. But Make no mistake, Arkadia was a dark city, and the police had their hands full.

Bellamy's first partner, back when he was still a rookie cop on the force, and hadn't yet earned his detective's badge, was a young man named Atom Finch.

After a very short few months working the beat together, a routine domestic dispute was called into HQ. Their car was called onto the scene of a run down apartment building in "Factory Station". It was a typical call for this neighborhood, and they took on many calls just like it that same day. Lots of Tweaked out junkies, lots of sobbing women and wailing infants. However, this stop turned tragic when Atom was shot by an angry drunk pimp. Bellamy hesitated in firing his weapon, and that mistake cost Atom his life.

Bellamy would not make that same mistake twice.

His second Partner was a cop named Officer Charles Pike. Pike was a veteran on the police force, and had been a cop since before Bellamy was out of diapers. He made his own rules, and was a little dangerous at times, but Bellamy was eager to learn and so he often followed in Pike's footsteps. Together they broke all manner of rules to book a suspect and catch bad-guys. And when those baddies needed a good shake down, neither of them hesitated in getting a little rough.

But, after a full year of dodging bullets with his new partner, who more often than not put Bellamy in the front of the line, Bellamy was forced to turn Pike in to his superiors.

He had witnessed the older cop put a bullet in the back of a young man's head, and that was one giant step too far for Blake.

The kid was a known gang banger, and had probably killed a man only minutes before his partner shot him, not to mention a previous and violent history with the police, Grand theft auto, and countless charges of armed robbery all stacked against him. It was all in the books, just waiting for this guy to get caught so they could lock him up and prosecute. But despite all of that, Pike decided the world would be better off without him in it. Now, Bellamy himself was guilty of slapping around a few of the guys he booked for domestic violence or child abuse for sure... but shooting someone with no weapon just because you felt like they deserved it, that was taking the law into your own hands. That was playing God, a dangerous game, and one that he wanted no part of.

Pike was arrested for the crime, and is serving his time behind bars. Bellamy had put him there. It was the one time booking the baddy didn't feel so good. That was his partner, his friend... and now his kids are growing up without a father.

Yeah...That was on him.

After Pike, he was immediately promoted. The Captain valued honesty and integrity above all else. He had remembered Bellamy from his days as an MMA coach. He would show up early to get more practice in, and stayed late to help pack up every night. Kane saw that same work ethic and determination in the man he had grown to be, and thus rewarded Bellamy with a place on Arkadia's very own Homicide unit as a detective.

His sister had never been prouder of her big brother, who immediately moved them out of Factory station, and into a calmer neighborhood directly South of it.

He was partnered with a man named Lincoln right after that. Lincoln was maybe a year or so older than Blake, and another one of Kane's pet projects gone right.

He was a hulking beast of a man. Handsome, taller, and even in better shape than Bellamy. He often wore a thick leather coat which made his broad shoulders seem truly gigantic. So It came as quite a surprise to Bellamy that Lincoln was actually a big softy at heart. He let more than one case get to him, and usually needed to step out for a breather after surveying the scene.

They worked together for several years, and were quick to get along. Often goofing off in the office, pulling pranks on each-other or pretending to be partners in more way than one, usually just to tease their buddy Miller who worked in the Special victims Unit.

Miller, who was gay, (a fact that no-one in the office knew, until last year's Christmas Party, where he introduced his fiance Paul to a bunch of surprised but not offended colleagues.), would simply roll his eyes every time they'd come into the office holding hands... spouting cheesy love lines to one another.

Homicide was a dirty job, and more than once they had been shot at, or put at serious risk while on assignment. They closed case after case after case and quickly earned their place on the team as top dogs in the A.P.D.

Everything was going great. That is, until Lincoln decided to pursue his dream, and transfer to the Gangs and Narcotics Division.

If he was honest with himself, he knew Lincoln was perfectly suited for the job. He looked the part, tall, ripped, tattoos, scars, he lived out of town for half of his life, so no one from Arkadia really knew him. Plus, he had a history with drugs ( the reason Bellamy refused to introduce him to his sister despite her pleading after seeing a picture of the two of them on Bellamy's cell phone), and therefore had a bit of chip on his shoulder about the drug trade in general. Fighting the war against drugs was sort of Lincoln's dream job..

So when Lincoln told him the news, he had to admit he was actually pretty happy for the big Lug. Even if he was secretly dreading starting over with a new partner.

It was the weekend directly after Lincoln's transfer, that Captain Kane wrote the hot-headed young detective a brief email: stating that his new partner was being transferred in A.S.A.P., and to expect them to come in the following work week.

"Detective Griffin, age 24, and a recent University of Arkadia graduate" He read out-loud from his desk to no one in particular. "No first name given, and no back-story either."

"Sounds like Kane's trying to avoid conflict again" snarked Murphy, Roan's partner in the Organized Crime Unit, not to mention a huge pain in the ass to everyone in the office. A smirk was plastered on his face as he played with his phone, waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. If there was one thing about Murphy, it was that he refused to work on anything until a cup of coffee was firmly placed in his hands, and if it was possible, he was even more of an ass until he had that first sip.

What all of this probably meant though, was that the kid was a rookie, being placed in the department because his family had ties with the chief of police (Commissioner Jaha.) The name Griffin did ring a bell, some public official or well to do politician, just the type of person Jaha liked to bump elbows with. He was probably book smart, and street stupid, because anyone wealthy enough to attend U of A, and be buddy buddy with Jaha, probably grew up sheltered as Fuck.

Bellamy let out a deep throaty chuckle, and nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, you probably nailed it this time slick, because 1: Whoever they are, they're young, and fresh out of college, which means they're probably naive as hell."

"2: They're Probably well-to-do, based on the fact that they attended the most expensive private university in the State... and you know how much I love rich Pricks from DTA.(Down-town Arkadia)". Bellamy gave Murphy a pointed stare as the two of them raised their coffee mugs in apparent agreement on this particular matter.

"And most importantly, 3: They're new to the force, with absolutely zero experience to back them up. You bet your sweet little ass Kane knows I'm going to hate this guy."

...

Bellamy was not optimistic. In fact he was pretty pissed off. Putting a rookie in homicide was a dangerous move, and jeopardized his whole team's safety, and it was an insult to the dozens of officers who've been vying for the position, and have been trying to work their way up the ranks the old fashioned way.

So, on Monday, when Kane approached Bellamy's desk surrounded by an entourage of his usual staff giving detailed reports, and waving papers around for him to sign, he failed to see the small, young, blonde person standing directly behind his Captain.

"Blake" The captain motioned for the crowd to disperse.

"Sir" Detective Blake stood from his desk momentarily, until Kane motioned for him to sit back down.

"Blake, I would like..."

"Sir, with all due respect, I read your email..." Bellamy cut him off. Already letting the anger in his voice slip out.

"...and this Griffin kid, I mean, you can't be serious! This person JUST graduated the Academy a few weeks ago. A few weeks ago Kane?!. Do I look like a babysitter?! You're going to pair me off with the new guy?" He put his feet on his desk defiantly, and immediately went back into his tirade. "You can't put a rookie on Homicide Sir, that's a Homicide in and of itself."

Kane's face looked like it was about to explode.

"You know it, I know it, and I'm pretty sure everyone in the whole Goddamned precinct knows it. I'm sure this kid's rich ass parents won't mind the shame of having their kid working the everyday beat, if it means their son doesn't wind up in a body bag this Christmas... Hell! That could still happen, but at least it wouldn't be an absolute certainty." Bellamy Slammed shut an open drawer at his desk for emphasis.

He showed no signs of slowing down, so the Captain decided to cut him off.

"Detective Blake may I remind you that you're speaking to a Superior Officer!"

"Yeah, I know, but I'm serious Chief. You're asking me to..."

"Bellamy, get your feet off that desk, and shut up... that's an order."

The young detective sighed a deep throaty sigh, but did as he was told. Folding his impressive arms across his chest as he settled down.

"Now listen to me Blake, before you make an even bigger ASS of yourself.

Detective Griffin is one of the youngest people to Graduate with honors from Arkadia's most prestigious University, having studied both Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences. She also graduated from the police Academy at A.C.C. at the top of her class. So, when she decided to join our team, I was thrilled to place such a brilliant young mind in our detective's unit. Her Forensic background will come in handy on the Homicide team, I'm sure you'll agree."

Bellamy had to do mental check...

"Wait.. rewind a minute there chief..." His face remained stoic, as he went over this new information in his head again.

"You're giving me... a female partner. A female 'ROOKIE' partner?!? " He stood back up at his desk at this point, groaning loudly and dragging his hands down his face slowly for exaggerated effect.

"NO! Absolutely not. Are you out of your fucking mind Marcus?! " Bellamy blanched. Rethinking his tone, as he spoke to his captain. "I mean..." and here he changed his tone only slightly. "Are you out of your mind, Sir?"

A very audible cough was heard from behind the chief at this point, and Kane looked both extremely embarrassed and livid.

Harper, Miller's partner, threw a balled up piece of paper at Bellamy's head from her desk in the corner. "What's being a girl got anything to do with it Prick" she smiled, letting him know that she still found this interaction more funny than offensive.

"... As I was saying... when she decided to apply to the force...we were thrilled to have such a strong mind working with us to take down the cities top criminals. Most of you knuckleheads never even went to college" Kane gave Bellamy a knowing look and continued..

"And pairing her up with my BEST detective, of course seemed like the BEST decision. So without further ado, Clarke, Meet Bellamy. Bellamy, this is Detective Clarke Griffin... your new partner". This is when he decided to step to the side and finally reveal that she'd been standing there the whole time.

'Sonofabitch...' he mentally chided himself. She heard the whole thing.

He sat back down in his seat slowly, and outstretched his hand begrudgingly.

There in front of him, at barely 5'4" tall, stood a young woman. She had a bright head of Blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and a little mole above her lip. He noticed the mole first, loathe to admit that it was incredibly charming, but it was. Anyway, with her soft skin and gentle curves she looked nothing like the other girls on the team.

Reyes on the bomb squad, with her lean solid form, caramel skin, and a permanently pissed off look on her face. And Monroe, who looked like a MMA fighter with a mohawk and a probable drinking problem. Even Harper was built tough as nails, and knew how to throw a mean left hook.

'Clarke' looked like she was the teacher's pet her whole life. Like she'd never been in a fight...ever. Like an upper crust princess, who attended private universities, and hung out with the cities social elite on the weekend.

This was NOT going to work.


	2. How things are.

Clarke couldn't even fake a smile at this point. "The pleasure is all mine, apparently" she bit, as she looked her new partner up and down.

He was slouched in his mesh-backed office chair. Legs spread wide apart, in that annoying way overly confident men sat to give their balls some extra breathing room. He wore a simple grey sweater over a white t-shirt, with a pair of dark denim jeans. His badge hung from a chain draped around his neck.

He was solidly built; she'd admit that. A good thing too, because she was neither 'built', nor 'solid', and she needed a tough partner to offset her admitted lack of physical prowess. Sure she passed the basics in training. Self defense was mandatory at the Academy, but she wasn't going to pretend to be some 'action-hero-bad-ass-cop' when she wasn't.

She was the brains; he could be the brawn. At least, that's how she saw it playing out.

Bellamy lowered his hand when he realized the new detective wasn't going to shake it. Nodding his head and pressing his lips in a firm line, as he avoided eye contact.

Kane shifted awkwardly on his feet. "Well, I'm sure you'll work this out eventually...".

Patting Clarke on the back gruffly, he gave Blake a "we're going to talk about this later" look, and stalked off.

Without saying another word, Clarke took her seat at the desk directly facing Bellamy's, and started unloading the box that had been placed there by Kane's assistant only seconds ago.

Bellamy gave his new partner a discrete 'size-up' from his chair. She was short, he had noted that part before. Pretty, with blonde wavy hair. There was that cute mole above her lip that was insanely distracting. She wore a bright blue, unbuttoned blazer, which revealed a loose white tank-top underneath; her black pants snug against her curves.

His adam's apple bobbed up and down. 'Not bad Griffin' he double checked to make sure she wasn't looking, as he checked out what was visible of her cleavage.

Her current body language read as completely 'pissed-off', and honestly he couldn't blame her.

"Look" Bellamy shifted in his seat uncomfortably, scratching at the messy black hair that covered his head. "I know I came across as a dick just now, but I just wanna know you've got my back out there. Nothing personal"

Clarke looked up from the drawer she was currently filling with office supplies.

"I graduated from the same police academy that you did Blake...I'm sure I can manage."

"No. You don't understand Princess. There is a world of difference between shooting in a range, and shooting at an actual person. I mean...I've got family."

He mentally noted that it was just him, and his sister. 'But hey' he thought, 'it counts'

Clarke bristled noticeably when he called her princess, but he kept going.

"I don't plan on dying prematurely, not if I can help it." At this he sat up straight in his chair, and pointed to Miller and Harper currently passing files between each-other. "Detectives Nathan Miller and Harper McIntyre. Miller and Harper for short. They work the special victims unit. They're a great team, and would put their life on the line for yours. Or anyone else on the team for that matter." He gave Clarke a hard look and continued.

"And that", he nodded towards Murphy, who was sitting grumpily at his desk in the corner of the room with an unlit cigarette twirling between his fingers. "...is detective John Murphy. But really you can call him anything you want, so long as its degrading."

"I can hear you Bellamy" Murphy drawled while taking a moment to check out Blake's new partner from afar.

Clarke felt his gaze linger a little longer than was necessary at the badge currently clipped to the lapel of her blazer. A smirk played at the corners of his lips as he put the cigarette between his teeth and stood up. He headed out the doors with a coffee in his hand, "Be back in a few" he muttered casually over his shoulder.

"He and his partner Roan Azgeda work Organized Crime." Bellamy's deep husky voice was now a low whisper. "Though, I wonder if they haven't gone a bit too far on one or more occasion."

He gave Clarke a quick glance, "Don't trust them with anything. Information, your car, your back at a crime scene, ... and don't ask them any questions. They won't take it personal, and neither should you. They're allowed to bend the rules a bit further than the rest of us." Bellamy paused and scowled a bit as he thought about it. "And they wouldn't hesitate to throw you under a bus if it meant preserving their case. Not saying they wouldn't regret it later... just saying if I had to choose someone in this room to cover me in open fire ... it wouldn't be either of those guys." Bellamy took a long sip from his coffee. "Too be fair; it takes Organized Crimes years to build up a case. And taking down the head of a crime Organization, can potentially save countless innocent civilian lives. Sooo..."

Clarke eyed Murphy's empty seat. A nod of understanding the only sign she'd been listening.

"Then there's Monty and Wick down in Cyber Crimes, one of them will be up shortly to connect you to the database. Probably Monty. They're nice, just nerdy. Wick can be a bit of a smart-ass at times, but he's likeable enough. He's seeing Raven Reyes on the S.W.A.T. team. She's our explosives expert, so you'll be wanting to kiss her bitchy ass once or twice after she's called in to defuse a live wire."

Bellamy continued:

"There's Jasper Jordan down in the lab, we work with him a lot. My ex-partner Lincoln is working on the narcotics team along with Monroe and a few others. And Maya is partnered with your buddy Wells in Arson."

"How did you know that I knew Wells?"

"Call it a hunch princess." he winked. "Anyway, those are the people you're responsible for when you're called on scene. And they in turn, are responsible for you. My point that I'm trying to make, is that I happen to like these people, and I don't want them to get hurt because of some stupid rookie mistake you're bound to make. So you'll excuse my rudeness from earlier."

Clarke ground her teeth. Yeah she got it. She knew this would happen the minute her mom overstepped her boundaries and talked to Jaha on her behalf. But damn, if this arrogant prick didn't rub her the wrong way.

'Of all the people to be stuck with...'

"I was just trying to..."

"Look Blake. To be honest, I get where you're coming from, I do. And yeah, you did come off as a complete dick just now, but I'm willing to let it go, for the benefit of our mutual and 'unfortunate' partnership." She set the now empty box on the ground giving her a better view of her partner. His face unreadable.

"We're stuck with each-other whether you like it or not, and you can either help me get adjusted, and show me how this," she waved her finger back and forth between the two of them. "...is done, or we can suffer the consequences of that choice for the next several months."

"Right, well. No point in arguing that one." He frowned.

"Right. There really isn't.

Just then a skinny Asian guy walked up to her desk, and began working silently on her computer without sitting down.

For the next 30 minutes or so Clarke sat in silence and watched, while Monty from the Cyber Crimes Unit, and the department's resident 'computer guy' configured her desktop and connected her to the Crime Data Base.

"Wick said he'd grant your User ID full access by tomorrow. He's pretty backed up at the moment though, so I'll probably just do it myself when I get back downstairs." he smiled at her.

"The name's Monty by the way". He proffered her his hand after he had finished. She accepted it with only slight hesitance. "A few of us are going out after our shift ends tonight and wanted to know if you'd like to join us?"

"Yeah, that.." She smiled shyly. "..That'd be nice" She was being completely sincere. Clarke had been dreading the first few weeks on the job. She felt alien and out of place in most social situations anyway, her sheltered and hyper privileged upbringing usually prevented her from making new friends. But making new work friends was especially important in this particular field, and like her new partner had said, these men and women would become more than just her social network, they'd be her lifeline. The people she'd call for backup. The people she'd be trusting her very life with. She didn't want to remain a stranger for long. Monty's offer was the perfect peace offering, the perfect 'in'.

Bellamy put his cellphone back in his pocket, after a brief and vague phone conversation he had held in private. "Grab your coat kid. Let's ride." Bellamy grabbed his black puffer winter's jacket off the back of his chair and pulled a grey beanie over his mop of black curls, letting a few loose tendrils hang out the edges.

"You sure love those condescending nick-names don't you detective." Clarke grabbed a small black leather coat and thick wool scarf off the back of her own chair.

"Sure do Princess, get used to it." He gave her an appraising look. "And... is that all you're wearing?! It's 30F outside. Are you insane?!"

Clarke tried to look nonplussed. "It's fine, let's go, we're wasting time". Internally she chided herself for not planning on being outdoors much her first day, but she'd never admit that mistake to Blake.

Bellamy rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say princess."


	3. "She's a Beaut', ain't she?"

Their first car ride together was everything she expected it to be and more. That is of course, not saying much, as she figured it would be abysmal, and indeed it was.

Her partner, Bellamy, was decidedly not going to play the friendly colleague on her first day. He didn't give her much information as to where they were going, so she felt anxious and unprepared as they made their way to the squad car.

The car they were assigned was pretty run down looking, with some noticeable dents and a cracked rear window.

"That one?" She said, eying the vehicle suspiciously, as if this was some sort of office prank.

"Yep, she's a beaut' ain't she?" Bellamy cocked his head to the side and watched as Clarke shivered in her light coat, hands tucked up under her sleeves to prevent the wind from hitting them.

"You're sure you're not cold detective?" He smirked wildly at her.

Clarke groaned. "Just open the damn door already."

"As you wish." He chuckled, as he opened the door for her.

Clarke was pretty sure there was something rotting in the back seat as she stepped into the vehicle. Her hand shot up to her nose immediately, as a gag escaped her mouth.

"Ugh! It smells like... like... is that moldy coffee? ... and bacon grease ... and ... God what is that smell?! What the hell did you and your ex-partner do to the inside of this car Blake!?"

Bellamy tried not to laugh, and failed as she took out a small bottle of scented body mist, and started spraying it frantically all over the inside of the car.

"Great, now the car smells like a combination of moldy coffee, Bacon grease, mystery meat, and..." He snatched the bottle from her hands and read "Peach Bellini Paradise. We're screwed."

Despite the temperature dropping below freezing, Clarke rolled down her window. Snatching her body mist back, she stuffed it into her pocket angrily and buckled herself in.

"Where are we going anyway? I didn't hear anything get called in."

"Reaver's"

"I think I've heard of that before, isn't that a bar?"

"Yeah, it's a bar."

"So what happened? Are you going to fill me in? Or am I just going to be surprised when I get there?"

Clarke rolled up her window again as a particularly large gust of wind swept in, tucking her face further into her scarf in an attempt to shield herself, and dilute the smell simultaneously.

Bellamy sighed, "It's not work related."

"It's not... what?"

"It's not work related. It's my sister. It's her bar; she run's it, and she locked herself out while getting things set up for the evening. I have a spare key with me at all times, just in-case." He jingled his key-chain in her face rudely before turning the ignition. Surprisingly the old clunker actually started.

Clarke made sure the heater setting was on maximum, as she waited for the heat to kick in.

"She's all I got technically, and I don't like her standing outside in this weather without a coat on." He silently adjusted the vents in the car to face towards his partner, and started to pull out of the parking lot. "Also, the neighborhood it's in isn't the best. It's not Factory Station for sure, but "The Caves" aren't exactly a paradise of goodwill either."

"The Caves?"

"Yeah, you know... That part of town with all the old abandoned subway lines under ground." He gave her a look that suggested she was stupid for even asking.

"Reaver's is actually located inside one of those. You take the steps down on Forest Avenue, where it crosses with Mount Weather Rd. Octavia, that's my sister, had some giant doors fitted to the entry at the bottom of the steps, and sort of renovated the inside. She turned it into a pretty neat little bar, though I'm sure a nice little girl from D.T.A. wouldn't be caught dead in a place like Reaver's." Bellamy glanced sideways at her from the driver's seat. "It can be a little rough around the edges, if you know what I mean."

Clarke rolled her eyes.

She had actually been impressed with the description of the cool underground bar. She wasn't much of a drinker, and she knew enough about herself to admit that she had grown up pretty sheltered, but that didn't mean she wanted to stay that way forever. Also, "ABANDONED SUBWAY PLATFORM turned Bar!" It sounded like something out of a post-apocalyptic-movie-set. Clarke was squealing internally at the thought of seeing something like that in real life.

"How the hell would you know Blake? Actually, I'd really like to see it. It sounds pretty cool." She replied calmly as she rested her hands against the vents on the dashboard.

Bellamy eyed her hands for a moment, but said nothing.

"Good to know, cause that's where everyone wants to take you after our shift lets out tonight."

"Tell me, is your sister as 'charming' as you are Blake?"

"Oh Princess, you have no idea."

........

He wasn't lying. Octavia Blake was as prickly as a cactus.

When they first approached the brunette, she was shivering outside in a tank top, standing next to the stairs that led down to her bar.

Instead of a thank-you, Bellamy was greeted with a hard slap on the shoulder. "Took you long enough Bell."

She didn't even look at Clarke before turning and running down the steps to unlock the door.

"Your Welcome" Bellamy shouted after her angrily.

A few moments later she came back up, wearing a coat, and returned the borrowed keys to her brother.

"Who's the blonde?" She nodded at Clarke, who was trying her best not to shiver in front of them.

"This is Clarke Griffin, my new partner."

Octavia looked her up and down. She didn't seem impressed.

Now that she was actually face to face with the girl, Clarke could definitely see a family resemblance between the two Blakes. Octavia and Bellamy both had the same dark hair and olive complexion. The same angled jaw, and fierceness to their stare. But where Bellamy seemed outwardly calm and controlled, Octavia seemed a loose cannon. She was gorgeous, but Clarke could sense an edge to the girl.

"Clarke, this is Octavia, my baby sister, and a serious pain in my ass." He gave Octavia a scolding look,"You do this shit way too often O'."

"Maybe I'm just looking for an excuse to see you big brother" She gave him a false grin.

"Next time try and keep your coat on at least. You look almost as cold as Queen Elsa over here."

Clarke frowned. "I'm fine."

"Sure thing Snow Queen." Octavia snorted.

"Anyway, we'll see you later tonight. Monty invited her out, so you can get to know each-other after our shift ends."

"Looking forward to it." She smirked.

"Try not to get locked out again between now and then. And you're lucky no one came up and harassed you while you were out here alone."

"yeah yeah.. I get it." She rolled her eyes and headed back into the bar. "Later Blondie!" She called out.

"It's Clarke" Clarke mumbled under her breath, as she realized Octavia had already shut the door behind her. 'Right, well, that went about as well as I expected.'

Bellamy took off his beanie cap and put it on Clark's head before heading back to their car.

"Come on rookie, let's get back to the office, I'm freezing."

............


	4. The Welcoming Committee

Later that day, they inquired upon some leads, all of which were dead ends. Fought over who got to drive, and looked over some old cases they were considering re-opening. It was a long and grueling, tedious first day. Mostly because her partner was intent on giving her a hard time, and seemed to have a real penchant for condescension.

So, when it came time to call it quits, Clarke was more than ready to knock one back so to speak.

Monty, and a tall skinny guy who introduced himself as Jasper, were lingering near her desk for the last 5 minutes of her shift.

"You're giving us a ride tonight, right Blake?" - Jasper nodded at the disgruntled older Detective, who was busy locking up his desk.

"Yep"

'Great' Clarke thought. 'I get to spend even more time with him'

"Don't worry Griffin, we'll get you home in one piece" Jasper smirked devilishly, as he removed his lab-coat. 'HUG DEALER' in large print adorned the front of his sweatshirt.

"Go easy on her tonight guys, don't pull another Harper on us. I still have to work with her in the morning" Monty and Jasper grinned, as Harper tossed a wadded up paper ball at the back of Bellamy's head for the second time that day.

"Yeah, well… I did win didn't I?" She said with confidence.

"Won what?" Clarke's own morbid curiosity got the best of her.

"Oh, you'll see Rookie. These guys plan on giving you the Royal Treatment. Call it an initiation of sorts. We've all done it, so don't worry, you'll survive. Just make sure you make it to work tomorrow."

"...and on time." he added as an after-thought.

...

Clarke pulled her scarf around her face and rolled down the window's before the key ever even hit the ignition. She was being shuffled into the back seat with both Monty and Jasper this time, wedged in-between the two close friends, as if preventing her escape.

"Let's see," started Jasper, obviously the guy in charge of tonight's events.

"Raven and wick will both be there, hopefully they're back on speaking terms after yesterday's scream-fest in the break room. Of course the lovely Miss Maya, and your buddy Wells from the Arson Unit will also attend. Harper and Miller, those two do everything together. And, oh yeah, even Lincoln is coming."

"Oh Yeah?" Bellamy seemed genuinely pleased by this bit of information.

"Murphy said he'd slink by after he finishes up a few things too, so I am expecting a hell of a good time tonight". He fnished.

"And Roan is in deep this week so we won't have to worry about him and Bellamy getting into another fist-fight." Monty added.

"Yeah, well… he started it." Bellamy grumbled as he made a particularly sharp right hand turn.

"Sure Sure Bellamy. We all saw him dancing with Octavia. Don't act like that had nothing to do with it." Monty and Jasper gave each-other a knowing smile as they continued.

"Like I said, He started it" Bellamy smirked.

"So here's the run-down Griffin: We...", and at this Jasper waved his fingers back and forth between Monty and himself, "parade you around the bar, and introduce you to everyone. They'll size you up and make their bets. Then, you have to drink a special drink we make up for you. No questions, no protests… it will be absolutely disgusting.. and you are going to have to keep it down."

"What was Harper's drink called again?" Bellamy shouted to the back.

"It was 'An Unwanted Solicitation'. 'Fire in the backdoor' was for Wells. Easily one of my more wicked concoctions."

Clarke cringed. The boys all laughed.

"Anyway, then we make you sing at least 1 song with us on the Karaoke stage, don't worry, everyone ends up singing along anyway so your voice will be drowned out by the crowd. Murphy might even run up and steal the mic from you if he's there at this point, he's a real sucker for karaoke."

"Later you have to arm wrestle, pretty much the entire team. Or at least all of us that made it out tonight. Each time you lose a match, the winner gets to pour the loser a drink of their choosing, and the loser has to down it in one go. And oh, Sweet Clarke, you are going to lose so bad." Jasper grinned from ear to ear and rubbed his hands together maniacally.

Monty lifted and waved around Clarke's skinny arms for emphasis.

Bellamy Coughed and smiled from behind his driver's seat, as Clarke snatched her arm back and poked Monty with it playfully.

"Hey, I might actually win you know."

"No offense Princess, but he's right. None of us are going easy on you tonight." Her partner kept his gaze on the road, as he continued. "You're going up against Arcadia's finest. Even skinny Jasper here has some hidden guns."

Jasper pressed his lips together thinly and nodded. "Tis True. Gun City over here." as he playfully patted his right bicep.

"There are a few other little games we like to play too, so try and stay alive during the arm wrestling competition. If you can manage to somehow beat at least half of us, by some miracle of miracles, then you... my sweet little rookie you... 'win' as Harper put it. And can opt out of one of the nights finale acts of debauchery. But as I see no hope for you," he actually giggled. The little ferret. "You can count on this being one of the most indecent nights of your life."

Clarke swallowed a hard lump in her throat. She didn't want to admit that she didn't have much experience when it came to drinking, and she didn't want to insult the team by not participating in this self destructive ritual, so she just squinted her eyes and bit her lip nodding. "Great. Looking forward to it. Just, make sure I make it home in one piece."

"Oh, sweet Clarke" Monty smiled. "You will in-fact make it home in one piece, but you may wish you hadn't". He patted her head gently.

...

As they walked down the steps towards Reaver's together, Jasper and Monty already had her arms linked with theirs on either side. "There's no escaping now." Jasper winked.

"Just trust that we know what we're doing. We've done this multiple times already. Just ask Harper" Monty said with a wink of his own.

Bellamy coughed loudly from somewhere behind them, and his meaning was not lost on Clarke.

As the doors opened, the music and noise became almost deafening. The entire bar erupted in cheers. Almost the entire team was there, plus a few locals, and as nervous as she was, Clarke couldn't help but feel really excited in that moment. She never had this many friends before, She felt truly welcomed into their little world, and for a single moment that evening, was actually looking forward to losing herself a little.

"Welcome to Reaver's Blondie", a familiar voice called out from behind the bar at the far end of the platform. The actual bar was made of scrap metal that had been melded together, with metal-mesh backed chairs lining the counter top that surrounded it.

Octavia was handing a tall dark beer to a tall dark hulking beast of a man. He was loaded with several tattoos on his arms, and his head was completely shaven. He turned around at their arrival and waved a friendly wave towards the door. Bellamy slinked past them silently and headed towards the man, where he greeted him in a giant Bear hug. The two seemed pretty close.

"Glad you could make it Lincoln, God, do I miss you." he whispered while angling his head towards the door.

"Aww. C'mon mate, she's not that bad. She's actually kinda cute." He nudged his ex partner playfully.

"Cute doesn't exactly make me feel comfortable while working on a homicide, if you catch my drift."

"She might surprise you?" he chuckled.

Bellamy sighed deeply "Yeah, yeah." he rolled his eyes. "Hey, O. Get me that new IPA you recently stocked up on. I get at least 2 beers tonight before I have to call it quits."

Octavia smirked. "Sure thing brother."

Meanwhile Clarke was being passed from handshake to handshake, person to person around the room, and was making her own way towards the bar. Jasper in the lead.

.......................

"And this is Lincoln..."

Clarke new the drill at this point. She proffered her hand and waited for the inevitable size up routine.

Without skipping a beat Lincoln took her hand and gave it a light squeeze (he was being kind, she could tell).

"This is Bellamy's ex-partner, and Octavia's super secret crush. So don't flirt with him, or she might murder you." Jasper whispered, as he hid behind Clarke. Octavia nearly dropped her brother's drink in his lap. Her cheeks turned bright red, and Lincoln almost choked on his own laughter. Bellamy did not look amused, and Clarke for the first time that night laughed a genuine laugh.

"I'm pretty sure you just made Octavia's hit list Jasper."

He nodded solemnly. "Yeah, but it was worth it though" he winked at the brunette, then chased down Monty at the other side of the bar.

Lincoln shook his head smiling, and continued with his introduction.

Pleasure to meet you Clarke. He gave her a second gentle squeeze.

"Quite the grip you've got there Griffin."

She rolled her eyes, but laughed.

"Looks like you already met my mate Bellamy then. He nodded to his right. Sorry about the car." He chinked his glass against Bellamy's and took a long slow drag.

"You should be" She said boldly. "It's a bio-hazard in there"

He chuckled, then drew his breath up short.

"And that's quite the cute little mole you got there Griffin" He pointed to the mole above her lip, and Clarke couldn't help but blush. "Uhm. Thanks." She tried not to look too flushed as Octavia polished the wooden counter behind them.

"Is there anyone in this bar you won't flirt with Lincoln?" Bellamy smacked his friend on the back of the head gently.

"Are you jealous?" He winked. "It's true, I haven't been giving you much attention lately, now that we're not on the same team. I'm sorry Freckles." At this, Lincoln leaned forward and planted a big wet one on the older Blake's Cheek. "Don't worry, you'll always be my number one."

Bellamy laughed and swatted him away. Drying his cheek on his sleeve.

"Besides, that's not what I meant by pointing it out. I'm not trying to flirt with her, I like dark haired girls remember." Octavia smirked. "Like you." He nudged his friend with his shoulder.

"It's just genuinely adorable." Lincoln's attention turned back to Clarke. "I mean look at it."

Now it was Bellamy's turn to blush, as he tried not to stare directly at his partner's face. "Yeah.. I mean." He coughed. "It's cute"

Clarke wasn't sure if he was serious or if he was just trying to get his friend to shut up.

Jasper's return to the forefront couldn't have been timed any better. He appeared to be using a menu as a megaphone of sorts, as he shouted: "And Lastly... Yooooour partner, and the APD's current Arm Wrestling Champion! Bellamy "The Spartacus" Blaaaaake!".

Several members of the crowd cheered after his dramatic introduction, while Bellamy just sat there with his drink, trying to ignore the extra attention.

"Yep, We've met" She nodded.

Bellamy stretched out his arm obligingly.

It really was huge. And despite Bellamy being smaller (not by much) in stature than his ex partner Lincoln, her new partner's arms were somehow even more massive.

'Did this guy wrestle alligators on the weekend or what? Jeeezzuss.' Clarke mentally chided herself for staring.

She tentatively gave-in this time, and offered him her hand in return.

Bellamy gave it a soft squeeze of his own, sizing her up. Her hands were silky soft, and well manicured. She tried to give a squeeze of sorts back, but his rough calloused hands were unmovable.

"Ouch" He chuckled.

"This is going to be embarrassing." He used his free hand to take a swig of his beer.

"For you."

Clarke sighed, and gave him a false smile. He wasn't wrong.

As soon as he let go of her hand. Monty came back into the picture, holding up a large, brownish-colored beverage, that smelled suspiciously of hot sauce and tequila.

"I call this one, the 'Nacho-typical Homicide'. Bottom's up Griffin!" And the crowd went wild. 

Bellamy's face contorted as he gave the drink a quick sniff. "You guys are seriously disturbed."

Clarke closed her eyes.  
'1,2,3...' and so began the craziest night of her life.

...


	5. The Welcoming Committee Pt. 2

...

After losing to Harper, Miller, Monroe, a tall blonde Ogre named Dax, a tall blonde fox named Wick, and one seriously scary chick called Raven (who swore a lot), Clarke was starting to feel pretty drunk. Some poured her small shots of beer, while others gave her almost a full cocktail to consume.

Both Jasper and Monty surprised her by just how strong they actually were, and Wells managed to make her laugh hard enough not to notice that he'd won the match before they even started it.

A chick named Maya put up a pretty good fight, but actually lost, so Clarke's ego wasn't entirely bruised. Though, no one seemed surprised by this outcome, as 'Maya Maya Noodle Arms' was apparently a 'thing'.

Murphy started his match by lighting a cigarette. Being this close to him was a bit unsettling after Bellamy's warning earlier in the day. He had a mean look about him, and his eyes weren't shy about checking out her cleavage.

"So, you're one of the bad boys in the precinct eh?" She tried to sound confident.

Murphy's lips curled into a smirk. "Sure am. Want a drag sweetheart?" Clarke scrunched her nose, as he blew some smoke into her eyes, and pushed her arm down in one fell motion. "Sorry kid, I play dirty, get used to it." She coughed, as he patted her on the back.

He poured her a tiny little shot of beer, and gave her a wink.

"Thanks for that at least" she said, downing the shot of beer as though it were a shot of whiskey.

He stood from his chair taking his scotch with him. "You'll love me in the end Clarkey. They always do."

Lincoln laughed and said, "Cheers" as he sat down to replace him.

"Never mind old Murphy there. He's mostly talk."

Pouring her a shot of water, and without effort putting her arm down in half-a-blinking-second, he smiled a genuine smile and shouted: "Neeeeexxt", before whispering: "Down it quickly, and I'll tell them it was Vodka".

"I love you right now" She felt no shame in the confession, but did notice the corners of his eyes crinkle joyfully at her remark.

Her fingers drummed the table a few times, and she started slouching, as she waited for her next match.

"Ugh...Will this ever end. My arm feels like it's going to fall off."

Just then, Bellamy finally sat down in front of her. Her final contender as Champion, and one of the more sober people there. Rolling up his sleeves, he eyed his inebriated partner and chuckled deeply as he folded his arms across his chest. One by One, the crowd started gathering to watch the final battle.

"Need me to go easy on you Princess?"

Just then, a pretty girl whose name Clarke had already forgotten, leaned forward and whispered something into his left ear. Clarke wasn't sure what the girl had said, but she was aware of the effect it was having on her partner, who's ears turned a little red with blush, and a sly smirk spread across his face.

Clarke took off her blazer and stretched her arms out in front of her. She might be going down, but she'd be damned if she was going down without a fight.

A couple of the guys from narcotics gave her a wolf howl. Jackson from the Lab shouted: "Holy Shit! Griffin's stacked!"

Clarke chose to ignore this, and put her best game face on.

"Easy? Not on your life Freckles." Reaching over the table, she took hold of her partners beer and chugged what was left of it in a matter of seconds. Wiping her lips on the back of her forearm, she put the glass back down in front of her with a slam.

Feeling bad-ass must be a side effect of drunkenness she decided, for in that short moment, she felt like she stood an actual chance.

Bellamy's eyes refocused on his partner for a moment. The corners of his lips elevated slightly.

"You're going to regret that Griffin" He put his elbow down on the table and stretched his fingers.

Clarke mimicked him, and gave him her grip.

"You ready for this?" Bellamy gave her a playful squeeze.

"I was born ready" Clarke wasn't sure what that even meant, but it sounded cool, so she went with it.

"Born ready huh?" He was openly smiling at this point.

"Yep, (hiccup)."

"Alright, on the count of three. 1...2...3!"

Clarke gave it her all, she really did. She pushed so hard, she thought she was going to pass out, and it was like pushing against a wall. He didn't even flinch.

"C'mon Princess. That all you got?"

In her drunken frustration the best she could come up with was: "Well, excuse me...(grunt) Ugh! for not … (grunt) having arms made out of… (grunt) lead!"

"Lead arms eh? I'll take it." he looked smug as he ordered another beer for himself.

"How about you use both of your arms. I feel a little bad knocking you down like this."

She didn't hesitate to take him up on it, but still his arm wouldn't budge.

"You can stand up if you have to. Put your weight into it. "

Bellamy was positively enjoying this. 'Ugh', what Clarke wouldn't give to wipe that smug smirk off his face.

"Fine." Clarke stood up and pushed again, this time with her whole body pressing against his arm.

"Jeeze! What are you?!"She could feel him at least strain a little at this point, but somehow he still managed to pin her arm down. Her body swaying sideways as her hand hit the table.

The crowd, of course, went wild, and Clarke was feeling every bit as drunk and humiliated as she knew she should be at this point.

A tall glass of beer was poured and placed in front of her. She drank it dutifully, still standing.

"Bathroom Break!" she announced to no-one in particular. As a pair of strong hands guided her towards the restrooms.

"O! Gonna need your help over here."

"I've got this." Octavia grumbled as she pushed through the crowds. "Follow me."

"Ugh, I'm soooooooo drunk right, (hiccup)… right now."

"Hey, at least you're still upright. I'm impressed...considering how many rounds you just lost." Her partner smirked while handing her over to his sister, who shoved her into the ladies room without ceremony.

"Thanks, I think." Clarke stumbled into the stall that Octavia had opened for her, and started fumbling with her pant button. After several seconds of frustration, she managed to pull them down and plop her behind directly on the seat.

"Don't worry, I keep these bad-boys as clean as a nun on Sunday" Octavia said from the other side of the door.

Clarke wasn't paying attention though, her head was in her hands, and a long stream of piss shot out of her like she hadn't peed in 5 years.

"Oh, thank God, I thought I wasn't going to make it." She laughed. Even Octavia cracked a smile.

When she was finished, she leaned against the wall for support and struggled with her pants again.

Thump Thump Thump, the sound of someone pounding on the door pierced through their silence.

"Everything alright in there?"

"Yeah." They both replied at the same time.

"Jasper says he's ready for phase 2, I think you better hurry, or it'll only get worse."

Clarke groaned as she opened the stall door. The battle with her pants apparently over, and her hair sticking to the sweat on her face.

Octavia gently pulled back Clarke's hair, and started braiding it to one side.

"Tell him to keep his pants on… figuratively and literally." Octavia shouted.

When she finished with her hair, Clarke whispered a quick "thank you" to the young Blake. Her reflection in the mirror much improved.

Followed by an, "Oh my god, I'm so drunk.", and another knock on the door.

"Alright! Sheesh!"

Octavia helped her out of the bathroom, and back into her brother's awaiting arms. "She's all yours Bell."

Clarke looked up at her new partner's face.

"I didn't puke" She announced unceremoniously. "In-case you guys placed bets or anything."

Octavia nodded.

"She…Octavia was just fixing my hair." Clarke started fiddling with the braid on her right, letting loose a few of it's tendrils. "See?"

"And I spent a lifetime trying to squeeze back into these fucking pants." She snorted.

Bellamy coughed and tried his damnedest not to laugh. "Okay, okay. Just let me know if this gets too crazy for you tonight, alright kid? I mean, these guys mean well and all, but you don't have to do any of this stuff if you feel uncomfortable. You copy?"

She nodded.

Just then, Jasper found them. A new, extremely pissed off looking older guy was standing next to him.

"The name is Roan.", he grunted as he grabbed a drink from behind the bar. "Wanna dance?"

"Uhm..."

"Sure she does!" Jasper announced, as he pulled Clarke from Bellamy and pushed the two together.

"I'm Clarke" She stretched out her hand for a shake.

"You're not gonna punch me in the face for dancing with this one, are ya Blake?" Roan's deep timber rumbled through the air.

"Nope. But I could always find another reason, if you wanted me to?" Her partner's calm demeanor slowly fading away.

Clarke's hand still hanging in the air, she decided to drop it back to her side.

"It's a shame it got broke up that day. Just a couple of punches in, didn't really feel like we got out all that aggression out. I mean, I still dislike looking at your ugly mug in my sister's bar. Thought you weren't coming tonight?"

"Change of plans. My 'family' didn't need me for tonight's rendezvous, so I figured I'd come and meet the new girl after all." He turned to admire the new recruit. "Cute mole short stuff."

Bellamy scoffed, obviously annoyed.

Clarke just stood there; this whole time listening to the two of them, with a blank expression on her face.

"So, shall we dance Princess? Or are you more the type that likes to skip formalities, and go straight to the good stuff."

"Good stuff?"

Roan chuckled loudly.

"He's asking you if you'd like to sleep with him Clarke." Bellamy face turned ice cold real quick.

"Oh?" She nodded. "Oh!"

Roan chuckled again.

"Wait, No. Nope. I'm more of a dancing girl… I mean, oops that sounded weird. I'm not a dancing girl like a stripper." she laughed awkwardly. "I'm just a girl who would rather dance right now." Clarke stopped herself for a moment, to try and gain some composure. "I promise I'm not dumb, I'm just drunk. Normally I can have intelligent meaningful conversations with people, and I'm..."

"Dancing it is." Roan interrupted with a laugh. He twirled her around easily enough with the flick of his arm. Just don't tell your daddy who you're dancing with." he winked a sly wink at Bellamy, as he pulled her along to the dance floor.

Bellamy let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"Fucking Roan" he grumbled while cracking his knuckles. "If I punch that guy, it's on you Jasper"

"What?! What did I do?!"

"You brought him over here"

"Well, yeah. He works with us Bellamy; he gets to meet the new girl too. Maybe someone needs a lesson in sharing."

Bellamy gave Jasper a look that said 'shut your mouth', and so he did.

"This isn't about Blondie. Alright? I don't even like the girl. I just… I don't trust that guy."

....................... 

For the remainder of the evening, Clarke saw and experienced things she'd only ever seen on TV, or read about in magazines. The A.P.D. sure threw one heck of a party. Fortunately her partner was there to prevent psychological damage, as he made sure everyone kept their clothes on, and stuck to indoor activities only.

As the night wound down, Jasper and Maya had somehow switched into each-others' clothes. Monty was sleeping in a booth, while people took turns drawing on his face with a magic marker. Harper was calling her roommate for a ride home, and Wells had left hours ago, claiming a headache.

Murphy was pretty drunk by the end of the night, but decided to walk home, rather than ride with his partner Roan. He claimed he just needed to get some air, as he slapped a fresh pack of cigarettes against his palm.

Lincoln was helping Octavia close up for the night, by stacking chairs on top of tables, while Bellamy was chatting with that girl from earlier in a dark corner of the bar.

Clarke slow danced with Miller, wearing someone's necktie, and was half asleep on his shoulder, when her partner finally came to get her.

"Ready to head out rookie?"

Miller passed her on to the dark haired detective, and stretched his arms above his head. He was catching a ride later with Harper and her roommate.

"Hmm? Yeah.. Totally ready" She smiled lazily. A huge yawn slipped her lips as she blinked up at him. "I'm still standing aren't I?" She flexed an arm in front of him. "These are going to feel like lead tomorrow" She patted her biceps a couple of times. "But not the good kind..(hiccup)"

Bellamy wasn't exactly sure what she meant by that, but he let her continue as he guided her towards the door. He grabbed her coat and blazer absentmindedly, and helped her into them as she rambled on, placing his beanie once again on top of her head.

"How did I lose so many times?" Clarke picked up a chair on her way out. "See? I'm strong. I can move stuff." She stumbled a little over the chair after she set it down.

"Whoa there hot stuff, let's not fall and sprain an ankle on your first night. You've got to get up in 6 hrs, if you're going to make the 8am shift that you're signed up for."

Clarke let out a whiny groan. "Who does this to people on their first day?!"

"Well, I guess, welcome to our team Griffin."

He opened the door, as a cold gust of air came pouring over the threshold.

"Shit! That's cold" Clarke mumbled, sloppily attempting to zip up her jacket. "Are we parked far?" she yawned.

"Nah, just around the corner. Hey Lincoln!" he shouted over his shoulder. "Can you make sure my baby sister gets home alright?"

"I think I can manage boss."

"Thanks a lot, I owe you." Bellamy zipped up his own coat quite quickly, then slapped Clarke's hands away as he helped her with her own.

"What am I gonna do with you short stuff?" he shook his head. "Hopefully you're a bit more coordinated while sober eh?"

He started forward, and marched them towards 'old faithful', who was parked curbside on Forest Ave. Clarke climbed into the front this time, too drunk to do anything about the smell, and immediately leaned her head into the window, closing her eyes.

A huge yawn escaped her lips, and her head slumped forward.

By the Time Bellamy scraped the frost off the windshields, started the car, and got around to asking his partner for her address, she was sound asleep.

"Shit" he mumbled. "Hey Princess..." he shook her shoulder, jostling her slightly. "Clarke… Clarke.. Hey Griffin!" He sighed a deep sigh. "Shit. Shit. Shit."

He tapped her shoulder again, this time causing Clarke to bat his hand away in her sleep. "Hey! I need an address. So you're going to have to wake up. Alright?"

Bellamy took a look at his partner, and then groaned shaking his head. This was definitely going to put a damper on his plans with Roma for tonight.

"You're becoming a serious pain in my ass Griffin." he spun the car around. "A serious pain in my ass."

...


	6. The Sleep-over

After Carrying his new and unconscious partner up three flights of stairs, Bellamy was tempted to just let her sleep out in the hallway. 

“This is not a good way to start our relationship Rookie.”

Clarke stirred over his shoulder, as he shuffled for the set of keys he kept in his coat pocket. A few unintelligible mutterings were heard, and then she fell silent again.

“Shit Griffin. You’re not making this any easier. Hold still up there.”

A few agonizing moments later, after he dropped his keys and managed to pick them up again, he finally opened the door to his apartment. He practically ran into his bedroom to get her off his back. Collapsing by her side, as he plopped her onto his mattress. Bellamy was beat. He caught his breath for a moment, as the strain of carrying a human body up three flights of stairs really started to sink in. 

“You’re buying me breakfast tomorrow Princess.” He complained to the girl now snoring on his bed. 

His room was fairly tidy. They lived in an older building, so there were plaster walls and solid wooden floors throughout the apartment, but not many of them were in great condition. He let his sister choose the paint colors, and she chose a nice light grey color to paint the whole apartment with, including his room.

‘With a bright white trim, to brighten up the place.’ Her words not his.

There was a some-what modern looking computer desk facing the wall to the right of his door, a large window without blinds across the way, an old Queen-sized bed with a dresser to the left, and a small closet stuffed to the brim in the far corner. Nothing else. 

Bellamy allowed himself a minute or two to breathe before standing back up. He shrugged off his coat, and draped it over the back of his computer chair. His boots came next, and then his shoulder holster and gun, which he carefully locked up in a safe by his desk. The sweater he was wearing over his T-shirt, was tossed into a hamper in the closet.

Grabbing his partner by the legs he spun her around to lie in bed the ‘normal’ way. He felt a little bit creepy pulling off her shoes and socks, but decided he’d rather not have her boots muck up his freshly washed sheets.

Without gentleness, he wiggled her out of her leather coat and took his beanie off her head. He noticed her blonde messy hair, was no longer in that braid his sister had given her. 

Then, he untied the necktie around her neck, deciding it would be just his luck that she strangle herself with it in the middle of the night. 

“Wouldn’t want that now would we” he grumbled with a hint of sarcasm.

Sighing, he pulled back his blankets and covered her with them. Then, took off his pants and tossed them into that same hamper in the closet, snatched the second pillow from his bed, and turned off the lights before going to go fall asleep on his couch. Octavia would be home soon, and he would, no doubt, have to explain why he was sleeping out there to her. He calculated a short night ahead of him.

“Serious pain in my ass.” He groaned.

……………………

Clarke woke with a start, as the alarm clock on her phone jolted her awake. 

The room was pitch black. and she couldn’t see well in the dark, so she struggled to silence her phone. From somewhere in the (she assumed) apartment, she could hear a second alarm going off, followed by an audible groan. It was a male voice, but that was about all she could recognize through the muffled walls.

Clarke’s head was spinning, and her heart was racing a million miles per minute, as she tried to figure out exactly what happened last night. Did she sleep with someone? ‘Clothes still on? Check. Guess that’s a no.’

Her stomach was twisting, and her right arm felt pretty much useless. Her hangover was in full force at this point and she was afraid she might vomit.

“Shit” she whispered. “Where the fuck am I?” She used the light from her phone to peek around the room, suddenly landing on a familiar black puffer coat draped over a chair. 

“Bellamy?” she whispered loudly. “Blake? Are you there?” Suddenly the door knob turned and a mop of black shaggy hair poked into the room as she let out a shriek in surprise. 

“Good to see you’re still alive Griffin.” He flicked on the light switch and stumbled into the room, wearing only a plain white cotton T-shirt and his boxer briefs. 

Sitting on his computer chair, while running his hands over his face, Bellamy Blake looked every bit the disheveled dreamboat most girls went crazy over.

Clarke however, didn’t notice a thing, as her eyes were still painfully adjusting to the new light source. 

“You owe me breakfast after last night rookie.” Bellamy cracked his neck on each side. “And a fucking vacation.” He looked over at his partner and sighed. “Let’s get going so you don’t sit there with that hangover for much longer. I don’t want you getting sick all over my bed...or the car.”

Clarke groaned and laughed at the same time. “That car is going to be what pushes me over the edge Blake.”

She shuffled out from under the blankets and sat on the edge of the bed holding her head in her hands.

“Ugh. My head is pounding. Got any Motrin?”

Bellamy shook his head, “Unfortunately, I’m out. I checked on your behalf last night before falling asleep.”

“I’m going to kill those guys Monty and Jasper.”

“They took today off in advance. So, I fear your vengeance will have to wait.”

“Is there any place close by where we could eat? I’m starving.” As if on cue, her stomach made a loud rumbling noise. He laughed. “Preferably one that we could walk to in time before our shift starts?”

Bellamy nodded, “Yeah, there’s a place. But, it’s sort of a tough neighborhood I live in. You sure you’re up for it?”

Clarke gave him a direct look. “I kinda have to be, right? In order to be a good Detective?”

Bellamy nodded, “True.” 

“I’m sure you’ve already pieced together that I’m not from around...” Clarke motioned around the room. “...here. So, I’ll cut the bullshit and tell you directly that you’re right in assuming that I grew up pretty sheltered. But, I’m not an idiot, and I’ll listen to your advice out there.”

“Gotta get used to it sooner or later, right rookie?” He looked smug.

“These nicknames have got to stop.”

Bellamy grinned.

“Just remember to keep a low profile out there. People around these parts, don’t exactly care for cops.”, and after a short pause to allow his body and mind to wake up some more, “Your boots are under the bed.” 

He got up and tossed her a large light grey hooded sweatshirt from his closet, and the puffy black winter coat from his chair. “It’s even colder today than it was yesterday Princess. Don’t argue. Plus, your clothes stink.”

Clarke gave him a sideways glare. 

“Just being honest sweetheart.”

He then peeled off his white t-shirt, and grabbed a fresh one from the inside of his dresser.

Clarke turned about fifteen different shades of red when she realized he was shirtless, then spun around so fast, she nearly got motion sickness.

Bellamy noticed, but said nothing.

He then slid into a pair of black jeans, and put on a burgundy colored sweater over his new shirt. Grabbing some deodorant from his closet, he proceeded to put that on under his clothes, then tossed it to her. 

“O’s still sleeping, and trust me, you do NOT want to wake her up before her alarm goes off. So you’ll just have to man it up with me, and borrow mine.” 

He then took out his holster and gun from his desk safe, and slung them over his shoulders.

Grabbing a large military jacket from his closet, he put that on, and adjusted his hair in the large mirror that hung from his bedroom door.

“I have a spare toothbrush at the office too, that you can use once we get in.”

Clarke, meanwhile, shyly took off her blazer and sniffed at her tank top. Gagging as she smelled the old beer smell that still clung to it. “I guess you weren’t kidding” She coughed.

“Can I? Uhm..” She motioned towards the sweater at the foot of the bed.

“Yeah, Sure. I’ll just, uh, I’ll just give you a minute then.” Her partner stepped out the room and shut the door.

Clarke peeled off her stinky old shirt, and pinched it between two fingers, searching for a trash can to put it in. “There’s no saving you.” She groaned.

Then she put on the large grey sweatshirt she was given. Grateful that Bellamy had given her a clean one, as she took a whiff, and was pleasantly surprised by how nice it smelled. Or perhaps, it was just the stark contrast from her own scent that made it smell so good. 

“Oh Clarke, what have you done” She sighed. 

She took the deodorant from off the bed, and gave it a smell too before putting it on, attempting to fix her hair in the mirror with only her fingers. 

“Welcome to the APD.” She muttered. “And it’s only my second day on the job.”


	7. You Interested?

As the two detectives strolled down the sidewalk towards Indra's Diner, Clarke made sure to tuck her fists into the over-sized sleeves of her partner's winter coat. grateful that he had the decency to lend it to her, despite their initial disdain for one another.

The sun was just barely peeking out from beyond the horizon, and Bellamy wasn't kidding, it was fucking freezing outside. It was a million times colder than yesterday, and she couldn't help but shiver as a huge gust of wind slapped her exposed cheeks.

'Well that's one way to sober up', She thought, as another gust of wind slipped past her defenses. Her whole body locking up, in an effort to brace itself against the frosty air.

She was fighting to match her partner's uncommonly fast pace. Her legs were shorter than his by a mile, and her muscles still ached from her hangover. She was stiff with cold. Bellamy of course showed no intention of slowing down, despite Clarke's obvious struggle to keep up with him.

"This Indra's place better be worth it." She muttered

Snowflakes had just started falling all around them, as the weather was about to take a turn for the worse. Clarke slipped awkwardly on an icy patch, as they passed an alleyway, not even two blocks from his apartment. Still, her partner pushed forward. He didn't notice her near crash into concrete, as he was several feet ahead of her at this point, and was already crossing the intersection without her.

'You're a regular Prince Charming, Blake'. She grumbled into her borrowed scarf.

As she approached the corner, a drunk bum was sitting against a trash bin, clutching an empty liquor bottle to his chest. The crosswalk light turned red just as she arrived, and despite it being 6:30 in the morning, the traffic was busy enough to keep her there. The man's crooked smile was a little less than savory as he looked Clarke up and down from his spot on the ground.

"Look who it is. Mmm mmm mmm. Look who it is." The man slurred as he stumbled upright. "How you doin' little lady?"

Clarke sighed and shrugged her shoulders silently.

The man's attention was now fully devoted to Clarke, as he scratched at his crotch with his free hand.

"Hey! Don't ignore me sweetheart."

She shook her head a little, and shuffled her feet trying to stay warm. "Oh, don't worry, I'm not ignoring you."

"Ooooeee. Someone's touchy. Hey, how about, how about a few bucks then? Eh? Or a drink?" he licked the corner of his mouth and sniffed deeply, then hawked a loogie on the ground, right next to Clarke's new boots.

"Charming."

"Wanna fuck?"

"Nope." Clarke kept her gaze forward. 'Was this the longest light in history or what?'

.........................

From across the street, Bellamy glanced over his shoulder and sighed. His partner hadn't been as close behind him as he once thought.

She was still on the other side of Maplewood, and of course she'd be standing next to Larry DeVicci, one of the sleaziest bums he'd come across in his neighborhood.

"Some people really can't stay out of trouble." He muttered under his breath, as he headed back across the street, weaving through the traffic.

.........................

"No? But I'm cold baby. You could warm me up?" He smelled like urine and old beer.

"Lookin' good under that coat I bet, ain't that right?" he laughed as his eyes roamed her body from head to toe. "Sure you don't wanna fuck?" He swayed a little from side to side trying to keep his balance, still clutching onto his empty bottle. The clumsy movement bringing him closer to Clarke than he needed to be.

"That's really none of your business, and you need to back off." Clarke was really wishing that her sidearm wasn't locked up at the station right about now.

"Hey, I'm just sayin', it's been a while since I've seen a pretty piece of ..."

"DeVicci!"

Clarke took this moment to appreciate her partner's incredible timing, as she caught sight of him running through traffic to come up beside them. His above average size and stature, and his loud commanding voice, added to her appreciation in this very moment.

"She said she's not interested buddy." Bellamy positioned himself between the two. "So how about you back off, and take your ass down to St. Augustine's. You can get yourself warmed up there." Bellamy was having a really hard time not getting involved when he first came within earshot. He wanted to see how his partner would handle the situation, and so far she was doing fine, but there was only so much of Larry's slimy drunk solicitations he could take before he lost his temper and caused a scene.

The little walking man symbol lit up, and Clarke coughed a little at Bellamy to catch his attention.

The slightly older detective looked down at his partner's face, and saw that she was ready to move on. The muscles in his face twitched slightly, as he decided to reel in his temper, for her sake.

"Alright, alright, I get it. Didn't mean to disrespect the little lady." The man bowed theatrically. "She's your girl right?" Larry backed up a few inches clumsily then pulled a cigarette from his left pocket. "I can respect that. I didn't know alright? I mean, I thought you, I thought you like brunettes. Isn't that right?" He searched his other pocket for a lighter, after sticking the cigarette in his mouth.

Bellamy sighed. "Just... go get yourself cleaned up, and cut this shit out before I call your parole officer. Unless, you want me to let him know what you've been up to?" He gave Larry a pointed glare, then took Clark by the elbow and shuffled her across the street.

"Yeah, yeah, sure thing Officer Blake. But uh, when you're done with that one, send her my way." he shouted the words after them.

Clarke could still hear him mumbling from the other side of the street, as they made their way down the sidewalk.

"Someone doesn't handle rejection well." She tried to lighten the mood.

"You can say that again." Bellamy smirked. "He's mostly harmless really, a lot of bark, without the bite. At least, not yet." Bellamy felt the need to assure her. "But between you and me, I wouldn't recommend walking these streets unaccompanied. DeVicci's not the worst person you could bump into, of that I'm sure."

Clarke nodded. "Don't worry, I'm not planning my new jogging route or anything."

He smiled. "If it's any consolation, I wouldn't recommend anyone walk these streets alone. Myself even, if I can avoid it."

"Thanks big guy. Oddly enough, that does make me feel a little better."

"Big guy eh? I like it."

"You would."

"Anyway, we're here." Bellamy held open the door to a run down little diner on the corner. The inside wasn't much in appearance, but it was clean, and the food from the kitchen smelled like heaven to Clarke in that particular moment. Not to mention the indoor heating, which felt like an angel's kiss when it first hit her frozen cheeks.

"Oh thank God, we made it." She sighed.

Bellamy ushered her in, and sat them down in a booth by the window. The two detectives shrugged off their coats, and scarves, and made themselves comfortable. Bellamy leaned against the wall, and draped his arm over the edge of the booth. Clarke put her elbows on the table, and glanced the menu quietly.

"So....", Bellamy deciding to break the silence first, "Partner, what did you think of last night's shindig? Remember any of it?" He held up two fingers for the waitress to see, indicating coffee.

"To be perfectly honest, I really don't remember much of it. I remember drinking the worst cocktail of my life though, and singing a really awful cover of 'What's Up' by Four Non Blondes, with that Murphy guy."

"He'd be insulted to hear you say that." Bellamy cracked his knuckles absentmindedly.

"Oh! And losing horribly at arm wrestling to pretty much everyone I now have to work with" Clarke groaned, "And I'm definitely feeling the after-effects of 'that' particular activity today." She began massaging her right shoulder with a grimace.

"Yeah, we'll need to work on those spaghetti arms of yours Princess, or we might find ourselves in a pretty pickle some day."

"You know, if you're going to keep calling me princess, Detective Blake, then I'm going to have to invoke my right to boss you around." She smiled as their waitress arrived, and placed two hot steaming cups of coffee in front of them.

"Oh Thank God." Clarke warmed her fingers on the mug instantly.

Bellamy coughed out a laugh.

"What can I get you?" Her name-tag read Emori, but her face read 'I hate people'.

"Um, I guess I'll have the Choco-Nutty Waffle please, with whipped cream on the side if you have it." The waitress nodded, then turned to the older detective. Clarke felt a little self conscious ordering something so juvenile in front of her super fit, super serious partner, who happened to be smirking smugly at her from across the table.

"What?" Clarke was feeling self conscious and annoyed.

He gave a slight chuckle, and shook his head. "It's nothing Princess." He smiled. "I'll have the regular."

Emori scribbled down her notes then walked off without a word.

"Well, It's obviously something, and since you called me Princess again, I'll use my new title to demand an explanation."

"Oh man. Larry was right, you are a bit touchy today." He took a small sip from his coffee without adding anything to the cup.

Clarke almost slapped him, but instead tossed him a pointed glare.

Bellamy laughed. "It's not what you're thinking alright." He adjusted himself to face forward. "It's just that my sister always orders the exact same thing when she eats here with me."

Clark grabbed a couple of creamers from the small round dish in the center of the table, and added them generously to her coffee. "Oh. Well that's definitely not what I thought you were thinking."

"My sister is all I got in the world, and when people remind me of her, it's a good thing. Well, most of the time." His smile hit his eyes, and you could tell it was genuine.

Clarke took a slow savoring sip from her coffee.

"I know that I'm not exactly what you were hoping for, in terms of getting a new partner Bellamy. And so far, I haven't exactly proven myself to be of any use to you." She cleared her throat.

"I was pretty sure you were going to make fun of me just now. But, I'm hoping that despite being inexperienced, sucking at arm wrestling, getting drunk, and crashing at your place all within 24 hours of ever having met you, that we might actually work well together." She smiled up at him. "How's that for optimism?"

Bellamy took another slow drink from his coffee cup and smiled back.

"So, I won't bullshit you. I just ordered the sweetest, most infantile breakfast item on the menu, moments after being sexually harassed by a drunk pervert named Larry. I know how I must appear to you, the last 24 hours haven't exactly done much for my self image, but… just..." She sighed.

"Let's start over..."

"I need you Bellamy. I need your experience, your muscle, and I need your willingness to put up with me until I find my bearings."

Clarke outstretched her hand. "What do you say partner? Give me another chance?"

Bellamy was slightly taken aback by her gesture. He wasn't expecting it.

He wasn't stupid. If they were ever going to make it as a team, they'd need to work together. He didn't particularly like the girl, but he didn't hate her either. There was something about the way she looked him straight in the eyes when she talked too, that really resonated well with him. She meant what she said.

"Okay Clarke. Let's start over"


	8. Our first

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello again, and sorry for the delay. Much has happened to this poor Author in the last several months, and hopefully the flow of conversation, and style of writing still fit in with the rest of my story. This is my first Crime fiction, so I hope I find a way to pull this off, and also... be warned. Graphically violent descriptions and scenes are coming your way. Triggers ahead.

Clarke was practically salivating by the time Emori returned with their food. 

A deep groan of satisfaction was heard, not long after her very first bite of the Choco-Nutty-Waffle. 

Bellamy couldn’t help but laugh in response, as he reached over to grab the salt and pepper. Not even his sister ate this enthusiastically, and that was saying something.

“It’s that good, is it?” 

After chewing several times and swallowing deeply, Clarke nodded her head and managed a muffled “Yes”. 

He tried not to stare, as his pretty new partner licked some whipped cream from the corner of her mouth. Fortunately his phone began to ring, giving him something else to look at.

“Hello?” 

Clarke could feel her hangover melt away slowly with each bite of food. Not in it’s entirety, but the food certainly helped her forget about her bad start, and she regained some of that lost Griffin energy.

“Yeah it’s me.” He paused to drink some of his coffee.  
“Of course it’s me. Who else sounds this charming so early in the morning?” his eyes crinkled as he smirked into his phone. Clark thought it made him look older.

“Yeah she’s with me.” He coughed awkwardly.

Bellamy gave a deep sigh and signaled for their check silently, pressing his phone into his ear by way of shoulder, as he shoveled more breakfast into his mouth.

Clarke was only half listening to the phone call at this point, but understood that their time here was being cut short.

The grumpy waitress returned within seconds, and took Bellamy’s card from between two of his oversized fingers. 

Clarke noticed too late, and fumbled with her wallet in an attempt to take out her card.“Wait! Miss! You forgot mine.” Clarke stood up and waved her card in the air.

Emori ignored her, and Bellamy signaled for Clarke to keep quiet. Tugging at her sleeve to get her to sit back down.

He pointed first to her plate and then to her mouth, motioning for her to finish eating.

“Yikes, Okay. Right.” Taking another giant bite as he listened to the other end of the line. “Yeah? Well Shit. Okay. No, no. We’re close by already. We’ll be there.” 

Clarke picked up her pace, attempting to finish her plate before they were forced to head out. She felt bad that he paid for her meal, promising herself that she'd pay him back next time.

“Yeah, no, see you soon. Oh! And don’t let them cross that line til we get there Edwards.” He began scooting out of his side of the booth.

“I don’t care. And no, just one guy. Just one guy Edwards, or you might as well let the entire press team go in too.”

Emori dropped off his card, just as Bellamy hung up. Scribbling his name and adding a tip as Clarke barely managed to get her stuff together.

“Alright, We’re heading out.” Bellamy shrugged on his jacket, and reached for his scarf.

“Did they find a body?”

“Yep.” Bellamy looked down at the rookie with what could only be described as genuine concern.

“Not gonna lie to you princess, this one’s going to be tough to stomach, especially for a first timer.” Bellamy sighed deeply as he outstretched his hand to help her up. “It’s a kid.”

Clarke looked down at her plate with an unreadable expression. She hated to admit it, but she had been dreading this moment. 

She had seen plenty of dead bodies in her time. her mother worked at Arcadia’s busiest hospital after all. Also, during her time studying forensics, she had to work on multiple cadavers. 

Death was nothing new to her. 

The bodies they used in the lab had all been well over 60 yrs of age however, and all had died of natural causes. This would be the first time she came face to face with the body of a child, a child who could have lived a healthy normal life if given the chance. A true victim. He was right to look worried.

She accepted his hand, awkwardly stumbling out of the booth and bumping into her new partners side. 

“Sorry” she mumbled quietly, shrugging Bellamy’s oversized black puffer coat back on, and zipping herself in. 

“Not to mention the fact that you’re hungover.” Bellamy gave her a knowing look, and wrapped his scarf securely around his own neck. 

“I’ll fill you in in on the details when we get to the car. Don’t want to say too much out in the open.”

“Right.” she nodded, joining him down the aisle. “Let’s do this then.”

“Let’s do this.”

As Bellamy grabbed the door, he remembered something important. “You don’t have your gun on you, do you?”

“Shit! No, I left it at the station last night, because I knew I’d be out drinking.”

Typically, I’d encourage you not to go out to a crime scene unarmed, but.. in this case the area has already been cleared, and I’m armed, so just stick by me to ensure protocol is still being kept, copy rookie?

Clark nodded.  
………………………………….  
By this time, 'Old faithful' was covered in a thick frost. Her doors were hard to open, so Bellamy rammed into the driver and passenger side doors with his hip to unseal them. He started the engine, while Clarke started scraping at the windows with an old credit card. 

Bellamy started scraping too, but with an actual scraper that he had pulled from the car, and they were finished in no time. 

“Thanks Blake.”

“No problem Griffin.”

“So what are we heading in to?” She waited for him to get into the car before asking.

He turned the heater up and buckled himself in. 

“Girl roughly 14yrs of age, found in a shipping container just North-East of here.” Waiting for Clarke to finish buckling, he headed out as soon as she was done. 

“Victim appears to be a student at North Point Middle School, according to her school uniform. Her identity is to be treated as unknown, but the description matches that of one Tris Malbridge.

Her last known appearance was 5 days ago in the school parking lot. The Special Victims team on call has been requested to come by and assist. I hope I don’t need to explain why?” Clark nodded grimly. “All indications point to a pretty violent homicide, committed sometime within the last 24 hrs. Forensics team should be there upon our arrival, but they’ve been told to hold off until we get there.”

Clarke swallowed the lump in her throat.

“You okay Griffin?” 

“Yeah, yeah I’m okay.” She lied.  
………………………………………………………….

Both detectives rode in silence the rest of the way there. It was a short drive, and Clarke felt as though she had little time to prepare herself for her first Crime scene. Despite her nerves however, Clarke remained outwardly calm.

As they walked through the open doors of the shipping container however, the horrifying scene in front of them nearly broke all of that built up composure.

A young girl, barely recognizable lay dead in the middle of the container. Her blonde hair matted and stained, with the blood that had pooled around her body. Her neck showed clear signs of a strangulation, her face bruised and beaten, and her clothes were half torn from her body.

Clarke looked up at Bellamy’s stoic face. She hadn’t known her partner for more than 24 hrs, but she could sense the anger and the repulsion beneath his calm outer mask. Something in the way he said nothing. His eyes raking in the scene, his arms crossed over his chest, his lips tight and unmoving. This was getting to him.

Clarke didn’t waste any time. Grabbing a pair of gloves and a voice recorder from a member of the forensics team, who were all on standby, waiting for Clarke to finish her initial examination. She approached the body cautiously, a little unsure of her footing, not wanting to contaminate the blood splatter below. 

Bellamy grabbed some gloves too, but he left the examination of the body to his new partner, as he explored the shipping container for other clues. 

Partly because he couldn’t stomach the sight of such a young girl left in that state, and also because he wanted to see how his new partner handled it. 

Clarke took her time. She hovered over the body at first, only glancing her surroundings, drawing conclusions, and then squatting down right next to the girl, in an attempt to take in some finer details. 

“There’s severe bruising around the neck, indicating strangulation as the most likely cause of death.” Her hands trailed over the bruises, and she found it hard to breathe. “The perpetrator was most likely male, do to the size of the markings on her neck. Yes, they're quite large...and also the.. “ Clarke faltered only momentarily. “The sexual nature of the crime.” She felt bile rise up from the pits of her alcohol infused stomach.

“The victim appears to have suffered a head trauma as well. The initial impact spatter, and first signs of bleeding appear to have originated from another location further into the container. The blood surrounding her head is significant, however based on the location of the head wound, and the nature of the trauma, the wound appears to be non-fatal.” Clarke took a moment to regain herself. This was proving a lot harder than she thought possible.

“There are several bruises on and around her face.”

‘Deep breath Griffin, you can do this’ She took a deep breath and continued.

“Some appear older than others”

-pause-

“Clothes appear unwashed and torn, leaving her exposed.”

-pause-

“Her body appears to have been wiped clean before she was left here. A Semen sample is unlikely, though there is evidence of forced trauma. Fingers have been clipped and cleaned as well. He was meticulous. Forensics will have to see if they can pick up anything else in the lab from their other samples. This is Clarke Griffin, badge number,112-M283 end tape.” She released a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

“This is pretty F’d up Blake.”

“You can say that again.” He nudged her gently with his knee as he came to stand right next to her. “Let’s make sure we catch this guy before someone-else’s kid ends up like that.”

Clarke nodded, wiping tears from the corner of her eyes on the inside of the scarf she borrowed. “Right. That’s definitely a motivator to get my shit together.”

“Isn’t it just though?” He offered her his hand, and for the second time that day she took it. 

“It really is Partner.” 

……………………………….


End file.
